This almanac episode dives into the folklore of February through the lens of the Ancient Roman festival of Lupercalia on February 15th, tracing the themes of birth, milk, wolves, wildness, purification, death, twilight, and thunder through the month’s other pagan holidays, including St. Brigid’s day on February 1st, Candlemas / Gromnica / Perkunas Day on February 2nd, and Scandinavian St. Peter Hotstone on February 22nd. 

This month’s episode asks what the notion of purification might mean in a pagan context, and suggests it may mean facing the shadow parts of ourselves that we tend to project onto animals (and women) so we can ritually integrate them, clarifying and owning our role as powerfully in-between creatures in a powerfully in-between world.

Important dates:
February 1: Brigid’s Day / Bride (Ireland / Scotland) 
February 2: Candlemas (Christian) / Gromnica (Slavic) / Perkunas day (Lithuania) / Perun’s Day (Belarus) 
February 14: St. Valentine’s day
February 15: Lupercalia 
February 21: Mardi Gras / end of Carnivale / Start of Lent 
February 22: St. Peter Hot-stone

Listen to the February Almanac playlist on Tidal:
https://tidal.com/browse/playlist/4c148b82-bfe5-46cf-ba26-63b7bc2a7acd

Listen to the February Almanac playlist on Spotify: 
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2QSKLQ8WeAq9v26NWfpTtX?si=33e31c5e2fe74971

Music in this episode:

“Lupercalia” by Faun
Buy Faun’s music: https://shop.faun-music.com/

“Värgsangen” by Jonna Jinton
More Jonna Jinton music: https://www.youtube.com/user/jonnajinton
Buy Jonna Jinton’s art: https://jonnajintonsweden.com/
 
“Ulvetimme” (The Hour of the Wolf) Maria Franz and Christopher Juul
Buy Heilung’s (Maria Franz and Christopher Juul) music: https://heilung.bandcamp.com/

“Mary’s Keen” by Noirin Ni Riain
Buy this track: https://music.apple.com/ca/album/marys-keen/992023961?i=992023970
Buy Noirin Ni Riain’s music: https://music.apple.com/ca/album/stor-amhran/41446103

“Grá” by Wardruna
Buy Wardruna music and merch: https://wardrunashop.com/collections/music
Buy Wardruna digital tracks: https://wardruna.bandcamp.com/music

Opening theme: "Forest March" by Sylvia Woods
Buy Sylvia Woods’ music:
www.harpcenter.com/category/harp-cds

Sources for this episode:

Watch Ronja Robbersdaughter: https://fsharetv.io/watch/ronja-robbersdaughter-episode-1-tt0088015

Watch Wolf Walkers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_Z_tybgPgg

Emperors of Rome Podcast, Lupercalia episode: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/episode-cxxxv-lupercalia/id850148806?i=1000465237605

History and Folklore Podcast: Medieval Wolves episode: https://historyandfolklorepodcast.libsyn.com/medieval-wolves

Medieval Folklore: A Guide to Myths, Legends, Tales, Beliefs, and Customs edited by Carl Lindahl, John McNamara, and John Lindow: entry: “Wolf [Canis Lupus] and Werewolf”

The Nordic Animist Year (book) by Rune Rasmussen

Candlelight Tales Podcast: Brigid episode: https://soundcloud.com/candlelittales/episode-7-brigid

Transcript:
Welcome to the podcast. This is the February Almanac episode  of Fair Folk called Wolf Milk.

 In these Almanac episodes, I comb through European calendar custom.  that is folklore relating to the cycle of the year, typically with a focus on Northern Europe.  And I share what I find with you to help you orient the month ahead. Equipped with knowledge of nourishing traditions that can help reconnect you  to the natural cycles of the year  to land and the life in the plants, animals, our bodies, and ourselves.

Seasonal folklore and festivals call us back into community with all beings on the earth in its regular spinning wheel of life and death.  And they help us to tend through ritual, our ties to our kin of all species, both our ancestral kin and our future kin to come.  The recovery of European traditional cultures, the ones that privilege relationality, interconnection and respect for all beings, which you might call indigenous cultures, is so early in its stages.

Wolf Milk: February Almanac

This episode outlines the folklore of April in northern Europe: April Fool's day, Palm Sunday, Easter, St. George's day, and the history of gathering greenery for ritual and soups, rising at the dawn to worship a goddess, cuckoo folklore, dragon lore, and lovely spring ritual songs to set the mood!

This month's April Almanac Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2AJtQbVqaNJKhwbSNpRqxc?si=4d2dafd206f74a15

Join the mailing list: https://view.flodesk.com/pages/62d72c01da642d55a9868141

Goddess of the Dawn episode of Fair Folk: https://soundcloud.com/fairfolkcast/goddess-of-the-dawn

Goddess of the Dawn Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/37OdQr0zs03bygse4ULS47?si=1dcb8ccce828438e

Resources:

Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer, chapter: In the Footsteps of Nanabozho: Becoming Indigenous to Place. 
A quote: https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/7192815-our-immigrant-plant-teachers-offer-a-lot-of-different-models

Mimisbrunnr entry on the Nine Herbs Charm (Nigon Wyrta Galdor): https://www.mimisbrunnr.info/nigon-wyrta-galdor

A nice German nine-herb soup recipe: https://www.kitchenproject.com/german/recipes/Suppe/Grundonnerstagsuppe/index.htm

Music in this episode:

Opening theme: "Forest March" by Sylvia Woods
Buy Sylvia Woods’ music:
www.harpcenter.com/category/harp-cds

Kuku Kaki Kultarinta by Honeypaw
Purchase:
https://honeypawband.bandcamp.com/track/kuku-kaki-kultarinta

Edi Beo Thu Hevene Quene by Helena Ek and Goran Mansson
Purchase:
https://music.apple.com/ca/album/edi-beo-thu-hevene-queene/1625877870?i=1625879088

Now the Green Blade Riseth by Caedmon
Purchase:
https://music.apple.com/ca/album/now-the-green-blade-riseth/1491931796?i=1491932896

St. George by Waterson: Carthy
Purchase:
https://music.apple.com/ca/album/st-george/1280110185?i=1280110191

Instrumental track at 54:29: A Madre De Jhesu Cristo by Trouvere Medieval Minstrels
Purchase:
https://music.apple.com/ca/album/a-madre-de-jhesu-cristo/1346857580?i=1346857906

Bright morning stars are rising by Tony Saletan and Irene Saletan
Purchase:
https://folkways.si.edu/tony-and-irene-saletan/folk-songs-and-ballads

Dawn Rising: April Almanac

We have reached the energetic peak of the year. The main ancient and folkloric themes of June ritualise the human relationship to two of our primary life-givers, the sun and water. Our romance with these elements (and one another) reach a peak as the year completes its in-breath around the summer solstice. This episode outlines a faint thematic arc in historical Whitsun practices at the start of June, and Midsummer at the end, focusing especially on the folk rituals and folksong of the Baltic countries, Eastern Europe and Ireland.

Purchase my new Gathering the Gods course on Thor, Odin, & Freya: fantastic-hall-390.myflodesk.com/

My excellent Midsummer Solstice / June Almanac playlist on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0gG8z6O83kpkjflUqaSMZc?si=a7a6693c091046ef

The Midsummer Solstice episode of Fair Folk podcast from 2018: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1QZliHXdfHHmSVy0ySfpbv?si=fe6608a7395c4a5e

“Rusalki: Anthropology of time, death, and sexuality in Slavic folklore” by Jiří Dynda 
https://www.academia.edu/34620531/Rusalki_Anthropology_of_time_death_and_sexuality_in_Slavic_folklore

“The Mythic Sun: An Aerial Perspective” by Thomas Dubois: 
https://chs.harvard.edu/chapter/thomas-a-dubois-the-mythic-sun-an-areal-perspective/

“Migration of Song Genres: Two Typical Lithuanian Cases” by Rytis Ambrazevičius
https://bop.unibe.ch/EJM/article/view/8335

“The Midsummer Solstice As It Was, Or Was Not, Observed in Pagan Germany, Scandinavia and Anglo-Saxon England” by Sandra Billington 
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hX0NJJHjoicOq-5VH3kPfsQAX3NTbAtj/view?usp=sharing

Music in this episode:
Opening theme: "Forest March" by Sylvia Woods
Buy Sylvia Woods’ music:
www.harpcenter.com/category/harp-cds

“O Na Ivana Na Kupala” by Olexa Kabanov - 
Buy it: https://music.apple.com/ca/album/oh-na-ivana-na-kupala/919387915?i=919387973

“Švinta Jona Vakaralia” by Nalšia -
Learn more and buy it (scroll down for English): http://www.lnkc.lt/go.php/lit/Kupole-roze-sekminiu-joniniu-dainuojamoji-tautosaka/110946

Ozolini, Ozolini by Vilkači - 
Buy it: https://music.apple.com/ca/album/j%C4%81nis/1201942701

Fire & Water: June Almanac

Conditioning Split, Djbevon, Chops,, Chegando!, Chip And Dale: Rescue Rangers, Chriswayne, Daisy The Great, Cortador, Compas Love, Cincinnati Bearcats, Citizencapital, Gegeven, Geográfus, Coji, Cleopatra, Constant Repeat, Dj Kevin Toronto, Danny Wade, Doyin, Dancel, Charliem, Coelhodemoraes, Cillhop, Dirigida, Contractor Business , Finalboss, Forromarciano, Damiancallinanmayorforaday, Claudine,  Chinnachinnaasai, Choleraempathsкаксделатьхайперпоп, Chzn, Elliavram, Dynamic Radio, Denrola, Cold Corner, Cheese On Toast, Colours

(Inclut royalty free background music (FREE DOWNLOAD)

Fair Folk is a podcast rediscovering and sharing the sacred song and folk traditions of Europe.

New tracks tagged #calendar custom